Blade dispenser

ABSTRACT

A blade dispenser is provided to safely and easily dispense razor blades. Embodiments include a dispenser having a housing for accommodating a stack of blades; and a push button slidably mounted at a first end of the housing. The push button has a blade catch for engaging a button-engaging portion of a blade of the blade stack when the push button moves from a depressed position to a released position, to move the blade to an extended position partially outside the housing. A first spring engages the housing and the push button to bias the push button in the released position, and a blade pusher engages an end blade of the blade stack. A second spring is provided for engaging the housing and the blade pusher to bias the blade pusher and the blade stack towards the blade catch of the push button, such that when the push button moves from the depressed position to the released position, the blade catch engages the button-engaging portion of the first end blade of the blade stack to move the first end blade to the extended position.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present invention claims priority of provisional patent applicationNo. 61/006,752 filed Jan. 30, 2008, the contents of which areincorporated herein in their entirety

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a blade dispenser. The presentdisclosure has particular applicability to dispensers for standardsafety razor blades.

BACKGROUND

Blade dispensers are used to conveniently store and dispense a number ofblades, such as standard, single-edge razor blades. These blades haveone sharp blade edge at the bottom, and an opposed, safe top edge with afolded-over protective metal piece. They are typically used for scrapingand cutting. Conventional blade dispensers require the user to catch asmall protruding portion of the blade with the edge of a finger orfingernail, and push the blade slightly out through a slot in the frontof the dispenser. Typically, at this point the blade to be dispensed isslightly extended sideways from the dispenser, exposing both a portionof the safe top edge and the sharp blade edge. The blade is then graspedwith the thumb and forefinger and removed from the dispenser.

One disadvantage of conventional dispensers is that many users find itdifficult to catch a small portion of the blade with their finger orfingernail, which may be injured in the attempt to catch the bladeportion. Moreover, exposure of a portion of the sharp blade edge duringthe dispensing process exposes the user's fingers to injury.

There exists a need for a blade dispenser that dispenses blades easilyand safely.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

An advantage of the present disclosure is a blade dispenser thatdispenses blades such that the user can only grasp the safe protectivepiece of the blade when removing the blade from the dispenser, therebyreducing the risk of injury to the user.

According to the present disclosure, the foregoing and other advantagesare achieved in part by a dispenser for dispensing a plurality ofblades, the dispenser comprising a housing for accommodating the bladesin a stacked fashion; and a push button slidably mounted at a first endof the housing such that the push button is movable from a releasedposition to a depressed position and back to the released position. Thepush button has a blade catch for engaging a button-engaging portion ofa first end blade of the blade stack when the push button moves from thedepressed position to the released position, to move the first end bladeto an extended position partially outside the housing. A first springengages the housing and the push button to bias the push button in thereleased position, and a blade pusher engages a second end blade of theblade stack opposite the first end blade of the blade stack. A secondspring is provided for engaging the housing and the blade pusher to biasthe blade pusher and the blade stack towards the blade catch of the pushbutton along a longitudinal axis of the housing, such that when the pushbutton moves from the depressed position to the released position, theblade catch engages the button-engaging portion of the first end bladeof the blade stack to move the first end blade to the extended position.

A further advantage of the present disclosure is a dispenser fordispensing a plurality of blades, the dispenser comprising a housing foraccommodating the blades in a stacked fashion, and a push buttonslidably mounted at a first end of the housing such that the push buttonis movable from a released position to a depressed position and back tothe released position. The push button has a blade catch for engaging abutton-engaging portion of a first end blade of the blade stack when thepush button moves from the depressed position to the released position,to move the first end blade to an extended position partially outsidethe housing. A spring engages the housing and the push button to biasthe push button in the released position, and a blade pusher engages asecond end blade of the blade stack opposite the first end blade of theblade stack. A ratchet is provided proximal the first end of the housingoperatively connected to the push button, to advance the ratchet whenthe push button moves from the released position to the depressedposition. A belt is attached to the blade pusher and engageable with theratchet to draw the blade pusher and the blade stack towards the bladecatch of the push button along a longitudinal axis of the housing whenthe push button moves from the released position to the depressedposition, such that when the push button moves from the depressedposition to the released position, the blade catch engages thebutton-engaging portion of the first end blade of the blade stack tomove the first end blade to the extended position.

Additional advantages and other features of the present disclosure willbe set forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from the practice of thedisclosure. The advantages of the disclosure may be realized andobtained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

As will be realized, the present disclosure is capable of other anddifferent embodiments, and its several details are capable ofmodifications in various obvious respects, all without departing fromthe disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to beregarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein elements having thesame reference numeral designations represent like elements throughout,and wherein:

FIGS. 1 a-d are perspective views of a blade dispenser according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the blade dispenser of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the blade dispenser of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cutaway view of the blade dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is another cutaway view showing the retracting mechanism of theblade dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the retracting mechanism of the bladedispenser of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a blade dispenser according to a furtherembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A blade dispenser according to the present disclosure addresses thedisadvantages of conventional blade dispensers, which require the userto grasp the blade while a portion of the sharp blade edge is exposed.The present disclosure provides a dispenser having a sliding button thatengages a piece of the blade and moves the protective metal top edge ofthe blade far enough outside the dispenser to be grabbed by the userwith two fingers. The blades are kept in contact with the slide buttonby means of a pusher at the bottom of a stack of blades. A springmechanism or a ratchet mechanism maintains pressure on the pusher tokeep it in contact with the blade stack. Thus, the dispenser of thepresent disclosure is easy to use, and is safe for the user, unlikeconventional dispensers, wherein the blades extend sideways from thedispenser during dispensing, exposing both a portion of the safe topedge and the sharp blade edge.

The general operation of the dispenser according to the presentdisclosure will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 a-d. Thedispenser 10 is used to dispense a plurality of blades 20. It has aspring-loaded push button 12 at one end, and a blade pusher 40 at theother end which biases the blades 20 forward against the rear surface ofthe push button 12. To operate the dispenser, the button 12 is pusheddown, as shown in FIG. 1 b. Since the button 12 is biased to its “up”position by a spring (not shown), the button 12 returns to the upposition when it is released. As it returns to the up position, a fingeron the rear surface of button 12 catches the edge of protective metalpiece 21 of the blade 20 abutting it (see FIG. 1 c). The blade 20 canthen be gripped with two fingers and extracted. The rear of the housing15 has a slot 15 a for placing used blades for safe storage and eventualdisposal (see FIG. 1 d).

As shown in FIGS. 1 a and 2-4, the present disclosure includes adispenser 10 that can be used to dispense a plurality of blades 20, forexample, 50 to 250 blades, depending on the length of the dispenser 10.It has a push button section 11 at one end of the housing 15, whichincludes a push button 12 which is biased in an “up” (i.e., released)position by a spring 13, such as a coil spring. The blades 20 arestacked in suspension in the housing 15; that is, the grooves on eachside of the blade 20 ride on a small plastic track 17 on each side ofthe housing 15. The tracks 17 prevent the sharp cutting edge of theblades 20 from touching the bottom of the housing. A rear blade pusher40, which rides on tracks 18 in housing 15, forces the blades 20 towardthe button 12.

Blade pusher 40 is biased against the blade stack, to push the bladestack towards a blade catch 12 a of the push button 12 along alongitudinal axis of the housing 15. In certain embodiments, as shown inFIGS. 3-6, blade pusher 40 is biased towards the push button 12 by atorsion spring 30 mounted to a spring base 31 under push button 12 andcoil spring 13, and connected to a retracting wheel 32 which is in turnconnected to a string 33. The string 33 is also attached to the bladepusher 40. The torsion spring 30 and the retracting wheel 32 pull on theends of string 33, urging it to wind around the retracting wheel 32 tokeep a constant pressure on the blade pusher 40 (and hence the blades),pulling them forward.

When the button 12 is returning upwardly it catches the edge of theprotective metal piece 21 wrapped around an edge of each safety blade 20with blade catch 12 a. It picks up the blade 20, presenting the safe endof the blade 20 to the user for removal. The blade 20 can then begripped with two fingers and extracted.

The blades 20 are protected within the housing 15 by a transparent cover50 that may bear a logo 51 or other image.

In the rear of the housing 15 there is a slot 15 a for placing usedblades for safe storage and eventual disposal (best shown in FIG. 1 d).

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a different mechanismis employed to force the blades towards the push button, but otherrelevant aspects of this embodiment are the same as the previouslydescribed embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, a dispenser 110 for dispensinga plurality of blades has a spring-loaded push button 112 at one end ofa housing 115, the blades 120 are stacked in suspension in the housing115, and the blades ride on a small plastic track 117 on each side ofthe housing 115. When the button 112 is depressed, it advances aconventional ratcheting mechanism (not shown) which in turn engages abelt loop 116 traveling within the housing 115, taking any slack out ofthe belt loop 116 and moving it forward as apertures 116 a in the belt116 engage the ratcheting mechanism. The belt 116 is connected to a rearblade pusher 140, which rides on the tracks 117 and forces the blades120 toward the button 112. When the button 116 is returning upwardly itcatches the edge of the protective metal piece 121 wrapped around eachsafety blade 120. It picks up the blade 120, presenting the safe end ofthe blade 120 to the user for removal.

The present disclosure can be practiced by employing conventionalmaterials, methodology and equipment. Accordingly, the details of suchmaterials, equipment and methodology are not set forth herein in detail.In the previous descriptions, numerous specific details are set forth,such as specific materials, structures, chemicals, processes, etc., inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, itshould be recognized that the present disclosure can be practicedwithout resorting to the details specifically set forth. In otherinstances, well known processing structures have not been described indetail, in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present disclosure.

Only a few examples of the present disclosure are shown and describedherein. It is to be understood that the disclosure is capable of use invarious other combinations and environments and is capable of changes ormodifications within the scope of the inventive concepts as expressedherein.

1. A dispenser for dispensing a plurality of blades, the dispensercomprising: a housing for accommodating the blades in a stacked fashion;a push button slidably mounted at a first end of the housing such thatthe push button is movable from a released position to a depressedposition and back to the released position, the push button having ablade catch for engaging a button-engaging portion of a first end bladeof the blade stack when the push button moves from the depressedposition to the released position, to move the first end blade to anextended position partially outside the housing; a first spring forengaging the housing and the push button to bias the push button in thereleased position; a blade pusher for engaging a second end blade of theblade stack opposite the first end blade of the blade stack; and asecond spring for engaging the housing and the blade pusher to bias theblade pusher and the blade stack towards the blade catch of the pushbutton along a longitudinal axis of the housing, such that when the pushbutton moves from the depressed position to the released position, theblade catch engages the button-engaging portion of the first end bladeof the blade stack to move the first end blade to the extended position.2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the second spring is disposed inthe first end of the housing, the dispenser further comprising a stringconnecting the blade pusher and the second spring.
 3. The dispenser ofclaim 2, wherein the second spring comprises a torsion spring; thedispenser further comprising a retracting wheel to which the secondspring and the string are attached to urge the string to wind around theretracting wheel to bias the blade pusher.
 4. The dispenser of claim 1,wherein the housing comprises a pair of opposing blade tracks forengaging corresponding opposing grooves in each of the blades to preventa sharp edge of each of the blades from contacting the housing.
 5. Thedispenser of claim 1, wherein the blades are standard single-edge safetyrazor blades having a protective piece wrapped around an edge of theblade opposite a sharp edge, and the protective piece is thebutton-engaging portion.
 6. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the pushbutton is slidable in a direction substantially perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the housing along which the blade pusher is biased.7. The dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a storage compartmentfor storing used blades between a second end of the housing opposite thefirst end, and the blade pusher.
 8. The dispenser of claim 7, furthercomprising a cover for the housing over the blade stack, the housingincluding a slot proximal the second end of the housing for insertingthe used blades into the storage compartment.
 9. A dispenser fordispensing a plurality of blades, the dispenser comprising: a housingfor accommodating the blades in a stacked fashion; a push buttonslidably mounted at a first end of the housing such that the push buttonis movable from a released position to a depressed position and back tothe released position, the push button having a blade catch for engaginga button-engaging portion of a first end blade of the blade stack whenthe push button moves from the depressed position to the releasedposition, to move the first end blade to an extended position partiallyoutside the housing; a spring for engaging the housing and the pushbutton to bias the push button in the released position; a blade pusherfor engaging a second end blade of the blade stack opposite the firstend blade of the blade stack; a ratchet proximal the first end of thehousing, operatively connected to the push button to advance the ratchetwhen the push button moves from the released position to the depressedposition; and a belt attached to the blade pusher and engageable withthe ratchet to draw the blade pusher and the blade stack towards theblade catch of the push button along a longitudinal axis of the housingwhen the push button moves from the released position to the depressedposition, such that when the push button moves from the depressedposition to the released position, the blade catch engages thebutton-engaging portion of the first end blade of the blade stack tomove the first end blade to the extended position.
 10. The dispenser ofclaim 9, wherein the belt comprises apertures to engage the ratchet. 11.The dispenser of claim 9, wherein the housing comprises a pair ofopposing blade tracks for engaging corresponding opposing grooves ineach of the blades to prevent a sharp edge of each of the blades fromcontacting the housing.
 12. The dispenser of claim 11, wherein the bladepusher rides on the blade tracks.
 13. The dispenser of claim 9, whereinthe blades are standard single-edge safety razor blades having aprotective piece wrapped around an edge of the blade opposite a sharpedge, and the protective piece is the button-engaging portion.
 14. Thedispenser of claim 9, wherein the push button is slidable in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housingalong which Me blade pusher is biased.
 15. The dispenser of claim 9,further comprising a storage compartment for storing used blades betweena second end of the housing opposite the first end, and the bladepusher.
 16. The dispenser of claim 15, further comprising a cover forthe housing over the blade stack, the housing including a slot proximalthe second end of the housing for inserting the used blades into thestorage compartment.